Frozen Mornings

[Mike E]

I went to leave the house this morning and jump into the car but the doors would not open and they appeared to be frozen shut.
It had only been -2°C over night in my area - so I assume others on here have had much colder starts.
I hadn't attempted to preheat the car as I was running a little late.
My daughter came out of the house after me and jumped into her car and shot off - laughing as she went.

I turned on the cabin heating and waited about 5 mins - then the doors opened.
It seems odd that only -2°C could cause this - has anyone else had the same issue - or worse?

 

[WillowPAW]

I went to leave the house this morning and jump into the car but the doors would not open and they appeared to be frozen shut.
It had only been -2c over night in my area - so I assume others on here have had much colder starts.
I hadn't attempted to preheat the car as I was running a little late.
My daughter came out of the house after me and jumped into her car and shot off - laughing as she went.

I turned on the cabin heating and waited about 5 mins - then the doors opened.
It seems odd that only -2c could cause this - has anyone else had the same issue - or worse?

Same! Gotta remember to turn on Climate Control in advance. Had issue other morning of App not connecting from house, thankfully App would work whilst right next to car, so able to pre-warm and defrost, but had to wait whilst it was doing that.

 

[salty]

I went to leave the house this morning and jump into the car but the doors would not open and they appeared to be frozen shut.
It had only been -2c over night in my area - so I assume others on here have had much colder starts.
I hadn't attempted to preheat the car as I was running a little late.
My daughter came out of the house after me and jumped into her car and shot off - laughing as she went.

I turned on the cabin heating and waited about 5 mins - then the doors opened.
It seems odd that only -2c could cause this - has anyone else had the same issue - or worse?

Was the car wet? I've known sharp frosts when the cars been dry. And they opened no problem. But if the car is wet, and you then get a sharp frost, it seems much worse, e.g. doors won't open. Just a thought.

 

[Mike E]

Was the car wet? I've known sharp frosts when the cars been dry. And they opened no problem. But if the car is wet, and you then get a sharp frost, it seems much worse, e.g. doors won't open. Just a thought.

I think you have hit the nail on the head.
Yesterday had been wet followed by the mild freeze.
This morning it was -4c and no problem opening at all.

I will just plan ahead when wet+cold ...

 

[Anon70]

More of an issue with soft tops and frameless windows, as moisture can get between the glass and the rubber door seal so any temp below freezing will act like glue. Maybe try any of the rubber protection products like Gummi Pfledge to help the glass from sticking.

 

[salty]

More of an issue with soft tops and frameless windows, as moisture can get between the glass and the rubber door seal so any temp below freezing will act like glue. Maybe try any of the rubber protection products like Gummi Pfledge to help the glass from sticking.

Agree. My Mercedes E class coupes windows sometimes wouldn't drop, when really cold and particularly when the car was wet, beforehand. So presumably soft tops are the same. Tepid water sorted it in Seconds, though.

 

[charlie bravo]

Same! Gotta remember to turn on Climate Control in advance. Had issue other morning of App not connecting from house, thankfully App would work whilst right next to car, so able to pre-warm and defrost, but had to wait whilst it was doing that.

Spray WD40 on rubber seals.

 

[Jackolino]

Spray WD40 on rubber seals.

Please not never ever!
There are excellent rubber care products that are good for the rubber and don't smell so unpleasant. You can get these products in any car accessory shop or on the Internet for little money, but with much better properties.

 

[4Rens]

Last week it was a few degrees below zero here in the Netherlands. When I wanted to leave in the morning and opened the doors with the remote, all I heard was a dry click.
From that moment on, both doors refused to work, even after preheating the car. I consulted the owner's manual and called the MG dealer, who contacted MG Europe and MG roadside assistance, among others. Long story short, no one knew the solution.
Finally (late in the afternoon), the ANWB roadside assistance guy showed up. We went through a few more steps together, and finally, the doors worked again.
We also checked the door fuses (F11 & F12 5Amp). But you wouldn't believe how much work it is to open the fuse box. From now on, I'll just wear a jacket over the Cyberster when frost or snow is on the way.

The entire plastic cover plate must be removed to access the fuses

 

[Zebster]

Last week it was a few degrees below zero here in the Netherlands. When I wanted to leave in the morning and opened the doors with the remote, all I heard was a dry click.
From that moment on, both doors refused to work, even after preheating the car. I consulted the owner's manual and called the MG dealer, who contacted MG Europe and MG roadside assistance, among others. Long story short, no one knew the solution.
Finally (late in the afternoon), the ANWB roadside assistance guy showed up. We went through a few more steps together, and finally, the doors worked again.
We also checked the door fuses (F11 & F12 5Amp). But you wouldn't believe how much work it is to open the fuse box. From now on, I'll just wear a jacket over the Cyberster when frost or snow is on the way.

The entire plastic cover plate must be removed to access the fuses

So what exactly was the solution to getting the doors working again?

 

[4Rens]

The final solution was: disconnect the battery (for a long time) and press the remote button for a looooong time. And ensure the battery voltage is actually above 12 volts. (You can check this in the app.)

 

[Funtasto]

…and you really couldn’t open it manually with the switch behind the back wheel?

 

[4Rens]

…and you really couldn’t open it manually with the switch behind the back wheel?

The pull cables wouldn't budge. The cable on the right side wasn't even missing its pull loop.

 

[4Rens]

Last night it froze to -10°C in the Netherlands . The result: for the second time, the doors won't open. After the last time, I treated all the door seals, but apparently not well enough.
I'll either wait until the thaw sets in, or I'll put a cover over the car and place a heater underneath it. Luckily, summer will come again eventually .

 

[CybersterWatcher]

I had a frozen evening that caused some 'fun' the other day.

Came out of the pub and the door open buttons were frozen solid, the app refused to connect and the drivers door refused to open on the key.

Luckily the passenger door opened enough to be manually moved open and then I could put the heaters on but being stood in the cold waiting for the app to connect wouldn't have been fun.

 

[T1 Terry]

Have you tried WD40 dry silicon spray around the bits that are freezing to the point they won't move?
I have to admit, besides my 2 yrs in Tassie, serious freezing problems don't often occur on the Australian mainland .....

T1 Terry

 

[4Rens]

I called MG Roadside Assistance this morning.
They're sending a mechanic from ANWB Roadside Assistance.
It could take up to three hours for them to arrive.

The only thing that works is a hard reset of the car by disconnecting the battery and waiting a few minutes. After reconnecting the battery, everything works again after calibration.

 

[4Rens]

I visited the MG dealer in Amsterdam this afternoon.
Learned a little more thanks to the presence of an expert from MG Europe. The problem with the frost isn't a frozen door, but rather the windows, which are frozen shut, and when I open a door, they drop a centimeter. Because this isn't possible due to the frost, the system freezes and can only be resolved with a reset (disconnecting the battery). So, don't try to open the doors first, but first check and thaw the seals between the door and the window. This can be done with lukewarm water. As a consolation, I'll get an original car cover for the Cyberster. Hats off!

 

[Vader]

I suppose there is one advantage living in Oz. In winter, overnight temps rarely go below 10C (at least where I live). We don't have to worry about frozen cars. Now in summer, if you park in the sun, you could fry an egg on the bonnet but that is a different issue. I do remember when I lived in the UK, that we used to plaster the cars with newspapers to stop the frost (couldn't afford a car cover ). We would cover the windscreen(s) and the tops of the doors. This did the trick. Makes me think a well fitted car cover would have the same effect.

 

[decrep]

As long as it doesn't freeze the cover to the car